Ski boot with forward lean wedge

ABSTRACT

A ski boot of the rear entry variety having provision for varying the forward lean angle of the leg-encircling portion of the boot. The forward leg-covering part of the boot includes a cut-out portion which receives a variety of wedge-shaped members of varying size so as to increase or decrease the effective length of the upper edge of the forward leg-covering part of the boot.

United States Patent 1 Check et al.

[ June 3, 1975 [54] SKI BOOT WITH FORWARD LEAN WEDGE [75] Inventors: Donald R. Check, Glastonbury;

Lawrence L. Kilbourn, Middletown,

both of Conn.

[73] Assignee: Olin Corporation, New Haven,

Conn.

[22] Filed: July 5, 1974 21 Appl. No.: 486,265

[52] U.S. Cl. 36/2.5 AL [51] Int. Cl A43b 00/00 [58] Field of Search 36/25 R, 2.5 AL, 50

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,807,060 4/1974 Hanson et a1. 36/25 AL 9/1974 Kastinger 36/2.5 AL 11/1974 Hanson 36/25 AL Primary ExaminerPatrick D. Lawson Attorney, Agent, or Firm William W. Jones; Donald R. Motsko [5 7] ABSTRACT A ski boot of the rear entry variety having provision for varying the forward lean angle of the leg-encircling portion of the boot. The forward legcovering part of the boot includes a cut-out portion which receives a variety of wedge-shaped members of varying size so as to increase or decrease the effective length of the upper edge of the forward leg-covering part of the boot.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures SKI BOOT WITH FORWARD LEAN WEDGE This invention relates to a ski boot of the rear entry variety having means for varying the forward lean angle of the boot.

There are presently available to the skier a number of different types of ski boots. By their nature, ski boots are relatively bulky and heavy. Various provisions have been made to give ski boots some flexibility, where permissible or desirable, without forsaking their function of transmitting control of direction from the skier to the skis. In order to improve the skiers control of his skis, modern ski boots extend to varying degrees above the wearers ankle so as to embrace the lower portion of the lower leg. To increase the versatility of these modern high top ski boots and to make them usable for different types of skiing, as for example, for downhill racing, recreational skiing, and the like, it is desirable to be able to vary the forward lean angle of the boots.

The forward lean angle of a ski boot can be defined as the included angle between the axis of the lower leg embracing portion of the boot and a line normal to the plane of the ski, or the sole of the boot. The forward lean angle is preferably larger for certain types of skiing, as for example, downhill racing where the skier is more crouched, and smaller for other types of skiing,

as for example, recreational where the skier is more up- 1 right. Prior art boots have been provided with a cuff which engages the skiers lower leg and which is pivotally connected to the foot-embracing portion of the boot whereby the angle of forward lean can be varied. A stop member is mounted on the heel part of the boot to engage the cuff as it pivots backward thereby limiting the extent to which it can pivot backward so as to define a minimum forward lean angle for the boot. The stop is generally adjustable so that the minimum forward lean angle can be varied. Typical constructions of this type as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,543,421, issued Dec. 1, 1970 to G. B. Ader; and 3,775,871, issued Dec. 4, 1973 to R. A. Serko. While the above-described constructions are acknowledged to be available, little if any work has been done to provide a high top ski boot which does not have a pivoting cuff and yet which does have the capability of varying the minimum forward lean angle of the boot. It is to such a boot that this invention is directed.

The ski boot of this invention is of the rear entry variety and includes a foot-embracing portion which receives the forward portion of the foot. The forward part of the lower portion of the wearers lower leg is covered by a part of the boot which extends upwardly from the foot-embracing portion thereof and which is preferably immobile with respect to the foot-embracing portion of the boot. The boot further includes a rear part which covers the wearers heel and the rearward part of the lower portion lower leg, and which is pivotally mounted on the foot embracing part of the boot. The rearward and forward edges of the front and rear parts of the boot respectively are preferably overlapping and there are provided preferably strap means having associated buckles which strap means encircle the ankle and lower leg parts of the boot to secure the boot on the wearers foot. The front and rear parts of the boot have upper edges and are at least partially nestable or overlapping so that their upper edges can be adjusted to fit snugly about the lower portion of the lower leg of the wearer.

Once the desired snug fit is obtained, a predetermined effective circumferential dimension for the upper edges of the front and rear parts of the boot is established and retained by the buckle and strap members being adjusted. Of course the particular size of the predetermined effective circumferential dimension will be determined in accordance with the size of the wearer's leg, the snugness of fit, and the like.

The front part of the boot is provided with an opening which extends through the upper edge thereof, which opening provides opposing edges and is preferably in the shape of an inverted key hole. A number of different size wedges are provided which can be positioned in the opening so as to offset the opposing edges thereof a plurality of different distances from each other in such a manner as to effectively increase the length of the upper edge of the front part of the boot. Once this increase in edge length is accomplished, the boot is refitted on the foot of the wearer and the straps are adjusted to their predetermined dimension. Since the upper edge of the front part of the boot has enlarged its dimension, it will contribute more to the total circumferential leg-encircling dimension than previously, and the rear part of the boot will be pulled by the straps into greater overlap or nesting with the front part of the boot. This will result in the rear part of the boot being pivoted forwardly more about its pivot thereby increasing the minimum forward lean angle of the boot.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a ski boot having provision for the adjustment of the forward lean angle thereof.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a ski boot of the character described wherein the boot is of the rear entry variety.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a ski boot of the character described wherein the boot includes a forward part and a rearward part pivotally connected to the forward part.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a ski boot of the character described wherein the forward and rearward parts have overlapping edges when the boot is worn.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of a ski boot formed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the boot of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a fragmented front view of the upper part of the front of the boot of FIG. 1 with the covering cuff removed for clarity;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a wedge member designed for use in conjunction with the boot of FIG. 1 for varying the forward lean angle thereof;

FIG. 5 is a view of the boot similar to FIG. 3 but showing the wedge in place; 1

FIG. 6 is a somewhat schematic plan view of the uppermost part of the boot which encircles the lower leg of the wearer, the remainder of the boot not being shown for reasons of clarity; and

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but showing the ef fect of inserting the wedge in place in the boot.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a ski boot of the rear entry variety. The boot includes an outer shell 2 having a forward portion 4, a sole 6, and a rearward portion 8. The rearward portion 8 is pivotally connected to the sole 6 and forward portion 4 by means of a pair of aligned pins (one of which is shown). The boot is shown in FIG. 1 in its closed condition, e.g. as it is worn, and it will be understood that the rearward portion 8 is pivoted to the rear about the pins 10 and away from the forward portion 4 to permit insertion of the foot into the boot. The forward and rearward portions 4 and 8 meet at 12 wherein an overlapping or nesting interface is formed as is most clearly shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Preferably, the rearward portion 8 nests inside of the forward portion 4.

The boot also includes an inner liner member 14 formed from rubber or some other soft and resilient material. The liner 14 actually receives the wearers foot and is formed like a slipper. The liner 14 is also divided into forward and rearward parts 16 and 18 respectively which are separated by opposed vertical parting lines 20 (one of which is shown). The parting lines 20 also take the form of overlapping or nesting joints, with the rearward part 18 preferably nesting inside of the forward part 16. It will be readily understood that the rearward liner part 18 can be pivoted away from the forward liner part 16, by reason of the inherent resiliency of the material from which the liner is constructed, for insertion of the wearers foot into the boot.

A cuff member 22 is secured to the forward part 4 of the shell by means of a rivet 24. The cuff 22 includes an extended strap portion 26 (see FIG. 6) which wraps around the upper part of the shell and which carries a mount 28 to which is secured a cable loop 30. The cable loop 30 is engageable with buckle 32 mounted on the cuff 22 and forward portion 4 of the boot. The buckle 32 is of conventional construction and is adjustable to several settings whereby the circumferential dimension of the strap can be varied to accommodate different foot and leg sizes. It will be noted that the front portion 4 of the shell terminates at an upper edge 34 which is high enough to overlie the lower part of the lower leg of the wearer. Similarly, the rearward portion 8 of the shell terminates at a like upper edge 36. FIG. 2 illustrates the relation of the strap extension 26 with the upper edges 34 and 36 of the shell parts.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, there is shown the upper portion of the front part 4 of the shell of the boot. The portion shown underlies the cuff 22. A vertical slit or cut 38 is formed in the shell portion 4, which cut 38 extends at one end through the upper edge 34 of the portion 4, and terminates at the other end in a circular cut out 40. The shell material in the area of the cut 38 is relatively thin and relatively flexible. The cut 38 forms opposing edges or surfaces which can be spread apart from each other. A wedge member 42 shaped generally like an inverted keyhole is provided to extend or increase the effective circumferential length of the upper.

edge 34 of the forward portion 4 of the shell. The wedge 42 includes a circular portion 44 sized to fit snugly within the cut out 40, and a radially extending portion 46 which fits between the spread edges of the cut 38, as shown in FIG. 5. The lateral dimension D of the radial portion 46 of the wedge 42 can be varied by providing a plurality of different wedges all having the same size circular part but each having a radial part with a different lateral dimension D. In this manner the extent to which the length of the upper edge 34 of the shell portion 4 is increased can be varied. It will be readily appreciated that the cuff 22 overlying the wedge 42 will prevent the wedge from being accidentally dislodged from the cut out 40 and slit 38.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate the manner in which the invention operates. FIG. 6 shows the boot with no wedge inserted in the slit 38. It will be noted that the opposite faces of the slit 38 are in abutment and the circumferential length of the upper edge 34 of the front shell part 4 is at its minimum. The buckle 32 is set at a predetermined setting so that the combined length of cuff 22, strap 26, and cable 30 is set at a given value. It will be noted that the buckled cable pulls the rearward shell I part 8 into nesting relation within the forward shell part 4. As the rearward shell part 8 is pulled into nesting relation with the forward shell part 4, the rearward part 8 is pivoted about the pins 10 so as to establish a minimum forward lean angle for the boot. It is readily ap-' parent that the minimum forward lean angle of the boot can be changed by pulling the rearward shell part further into the forward shell part, and thus causing the rearward shell part to pivot further forwardly about the pins 10. This increase in nesting is accomplished by inserting a wedge 42 into the cut out 40 and slit 38 so as to force the side surfaces of the slit 38 away from each other. Insertion of the wedge 42 increases the effective length of the upper edge 34 of the front part 4 of the shell by a distance equal to D. The cuff 22, strap 26 and cable 30 are then rebuckled at the same setting as before, as shown in FIG. 7.'Since the cuff 22, strap 26 and cable 30 define a predetermined circumferential length at the given buckle setting, and more of that predetermined length is needed to overlie the now increased dimension of the upper edge 34 of the front part 4 of the shell, the upper edge 36 of the rear part 8 of the shell is pulled further into the front part 4 to increase the minimum forward lean angle of the boot.

It will be readily apparent that the minimum forward lean angle of the boot of this invention can be easily varied between any number of given values within a predetermined range to adapt the boot for different types of skiing.

Since many changes and variations of the disclosed embodiment of the invention may be made without departing from the inventive concept, it is not intended to limit the invention otherwise than as required by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A ski boot comprising a first portion which, when the boot is worn, surrounds a lower portion of the lower leg of the wearer, and a second portion which receives the foot of the wearer, said first portion comprising:

a. a front part having an upper terminal edge;

b. a rear part connected to said front part for pivotal movement with respect thereto, said rear part having an upper terminal edge;

e. first means for securing said rear part to said front part to establish a desired combined predetermined circumferential dimension for said upper terminal edges of said front and rear parts;

(I. an opening formed in said front part and extending through said upper terminal edge of said front part, said opening forming opposed side edges thereof which can be offset from each other to increase the effective circumferential extent of said upper terminal edge of said front part thereby increasing the percentage of said combined predetermined circumferential dimension provided by said upper terminal edge of said front part; and

e. a member for insertion into said opening to retain said side edges in a predetermined offset relationship whereby said first means will pull said rear part pivotally toward said front part in proportion to the distance between said offset edges of said opening to establish a given minimum forward lean angle for the boot.

2. The boot of claim 1, wherein said front part is relatively immobilized wih respect to said second portion of said boot.

3. The boot of claim 1, wherein said front part and said rear part have overlapping edges.

4. The boot of claim 1, wherein said rear part is partially nestable within said front part.

5. The boot of claim 1, wherein said first means comprises at least one strap and buckle assembly secured to said front part and encircling said rear part.

6. The boot of claim 5, wherein said strap is formed on a cuff overlying said opening to prevent said member from being unintentionally dislodged therefrom.

7. The boot of claim 1, wherein said opening includes an open cut-out portion and a slit extending from said cut-out portion through said upper terminal edge of said front part.

8. The boot of claim 7, wherein said cut-out portion is circular. 

1. A ski boot comprising a first portion which, when the boot is worn, surrounds a lower portion of the lower leg of the wearer, and a second portion which receives the foot of the wearer, said first portion comprising: a. a front part having an upper terminal edge; b. a rear part connected to said front part for pivotal movement with respect thereto, said rear part having an upper terminal edge; c. first means for securing said rear part to said front part to establish a desired combined predetermined circumferential dimension for said upper terminal edges of said front and rear parts; d. an opening formed in said front part and extending through said upper terminal edge of said front part, said opening forming opposed side edges thereof which can be offset from each other to increase the effective circumferential extent of said upper terminal edge of said front part thereby increasing the percentage of said combined predetermined circumferential dimension provided by said upper terminal edge of said front part; and e. a member for insertion into said opening to retain said side edges in a predetermined offset relationship whereby said first means will pull said rear part pivotally toward said front part in proportion to the distance between said offset edges of said opening to establish a given minimum forward lean angle for the boot.
 1. A ski boot comprising a first portion which, when the boot is worn, surrounds a lower portion of the lower leg of the wearer, and a second portion which receives the foot of the wearer, said first portion comprising: a. a front part having an upper terminal edge; b. a rear part connected to said front part for pivotal movement with respect thereto, said rear part having an upper terminal edge; c. first means for securing said rear part to said front part to establish a desired combined predetermined circumferential dimension for said upper terminal edges of said front and rear parts; d. an opening formed in said front part and extending through said upper terminal edge of said front part, said opening forming opposed side edges thereof which can be offset from each other to increase the effective circumferential extent of said upper terminal edge of said front part thereby increasing the percentage of said combined predetermined circumferential dimension provided by said upper terminal edge of said front part; and e. a member for insertion into said opening to retain said side edges in a predetermined offset relationship whereby said first means will pull said rear part pivotally toward said front part in proportion to the distance between said offset edges of said opening to establish a given minimum forward lean angle for the boot.
 2. The boot of claim 1, wherein said front part is relatively immobilized wih respect to said second portion of said boot.
 3. The boot of claim 1, wherein said front part and said rear part have overlapping edges.
 4. The boot of claim 1, wherein said rear part is partially nestable within said front part.
 5. The boot of claim 1, wherein said first means comprises at least one strap and buckle assembly secured to said front part and encircling said rear part.
 6. The boot of claim 5, wherein said strap is formed on a cuff overlying said opening to prevent said member from being unintentionally dislodged therefrom.
 7. The boot of claim 1, wherein said opening inclUdes an open cut-out portion and a slit extending from said cut-out portion through said upper terminal edge of said front part. 